Overall 9.3 Graphics 7.3 Sound 9.2 Addictive 8 Story 9.4 Depth 8.8 Difficulty 8
8
How to blatantly mess up your game engine! UncleBalrog
It's been about an entire year since I last posted a review. Or...anything, really. I planned on reviewing the entire Megaman Zero series, but I guess that never... *Sunglasses* ROLLED around!
...Uh yeah my point is it's good to be back, guys. No cheesy jokes this time, none of that pretending-to-be-funny-by-making-obscure-references crap I tried to pull with my other reviews. Despite how wonderfully cringe-worthy they are.
ON WITH THE REVIEW!! Whee...Something to clear up: I'll be straight with you guys. I do NOT like this game. Like, I really really don't like this game, even though the Zelda series is by far one of my personal favorites. The reasons for this will be explained in due time, if you'd kindly read the rest of this review.
For starters, I'm gonna switch up my approach to doing these reviews. I'm not gonna judge them based on my admittedly biased opinions for certain game franchises, and I'm also going to list pros and cons before the actual evaluation procedures begin. Without further ado, here we go.
THE PROS-Definitely a Zelda game at its core, uses the same free item assignment system that Link's Awakening used
-It honestly puzzled me at times, in some good ways too
-The GBC allowed for graphical improvements, if only by adding color
-New tunes were pretty nice
THE CONS (Kind of a lot for the cons because I'm a pessimist)-Same engine as Link's Awakening with minor tweaks, and BAD tweaks too (explained in evaluation)
-Lazily reused graphics ripped directly from LA, even those without actual color
-Lazily reused sound effects, music tracks, and even quotes at times that are, once again, ripped straight from LA
-Felt too much like some sort of alternate-universe (or Twilight Zone, if you hate this game as much as I do) instead of its own stand-alone game
-Linking process that is required for the true ending is tedious and costly, and honestly not worth it
-Rarely used any new dungeon/enemy mechanics
If you can identify patterns, you can easily tell that all my main gripes with this game deal with how it lazily and shamelessly rehashes elements that are ripped DIRECTLY from Link's Awakening, and uses them in less-effective ways.
One of the main problems with the game engine itself is that it differed from Link's Awakening in a way that, on paper, seems trivial and honestly pointless. However, by actually playing the game, you realize what a heavy impact this mistake in development can present to you. They GREATLY reduced the amount of invincibility frames you receive after taking damage. In Link's Awakening you received about half a second, giving you just the right amount of time to say something like, "Oh hey I got hit I should analyze this enemy's attacking patterns more carefully so that I can dodge them next time." In Oracle of Seasons/Ages, the invincibility frames you get total in at about 0.1 seconds,which is just the right amount of time for you to be able to take a TON of damage (sometimes all of your health) in a less than two seconds flat. This gives you no time to judge distances or attack patterns, which are strategies necessary to play ANY combat-based game. They even reduced the hitstun you receive as well. Attacks push you back nowhere near as much as they did in Link's Awakening. Combine that with the non-existent invincibility frames, and what you get is a frenzied mess of bouncing between multiple enemies and watching helplessly as your health drops to zero. In mere seconds. Good job, Capcom.
Graphics: 7If I were to review Link's Awakening right now, I'd be giving the graphics an 8 with absolutely no regrets. But for this game, I give it a 7. I'd go even lower if I didn't cut this game some slack for being developed by a 3rd party.
Why the sub-par score? Well, as I mentioned in the Cons, this game reuses and rips sprites, tilesets, dungeon tiles, and basically anything you can think of that was in Link's Awakening. Sometimes, the sprites they ripped weren't even
updated to have color, causing objects to look VERY out of place with the overworld and dungeons.
Sound: 8This gets an 8 because while it did rehash some of the likable tracks from Link's Awakening, it still added some that have actually become a few of my favorites in the series. That, and I'm kind of a sucker for chiptune-style music. I dunno, some of it just has that gritty, adventuring feel to it that you can only produce in a Zelda game.
Addictiveness: 6The amount of times I've yawned, sighed, and grunted while playing this game is enough to make even you, who has condemned yourself to reading this review, fall straight to
sleep. These yawns, sighs, and other incoherent noises (most notably, curses) convey many feelings, including, but not limited to; boredom, anger, irritation, contempt, betrayal, and most importantly, disgust. This game just dragged on and on, even for a Zelda game, which has become somewhat infamous with its lengthy and drawn-out introduction cutscenes and/or tutorial sections. It's the first time I've put the game down mid-dungeon to go play something else. It felt like a watered-down, less satisfying version of Link's Awakening.
In fact, I'm going to commit the grave sin of comparing this game to Megaman X6. Yeah, I think it's that bad.
Story: 8Whew...this is the part where I cool down for a bit and cut Oracle of Seasons some slack. The story is, more or less, average for a Zelda game. While I can admit that it's completely generic and probably one of the worst/most boring plotlines out of any Zelda game, it at least knew what a Triforce was.
Depth: 9I'm gonna go easy on the game for this part too. While I can safely say that I hate this game with a passion, I definitely can't lie about the game and say that there's nothing to do. There's definitely a lot to do in this game, what with your typical sidequests and all, but it's just that unlike other Zelda games...eh...basically what I'm trying to say is: There's a lot to do, but I can't stand doing it. There's a lot of content that's all being forced to work with this horribly butchered game engine. It definitely destroyed all interest I had in completing this game 100%, although I HAVE played it through to its end.
Difficulty: 8This game is freaking hard. This is a really hard freaking game. There's no other way I can put it to you. But what I CAN say, is that it's hard for all the wrong reasons. The game engine will have you dying constantly, without a shadow of a doubt. This leads to the common "cheap death" kind of scenario, especially when you're pit against slower-moving bosses that can corner you. There's also some puzzles in this game that are just flat out ridiculous. It makes me wonder what kind of hellish nightmare Ages was, seeing how it was a more puzzle-based game compared to Seasons, which was more combat based. At that point though, it's more of a "choose your method of torture" kinda thing rather than a "combat or puzzles" scenario.
Overall: 8An 8 is the only safe and morally correct rating I can give this game. For a Zelda game, this is SIGNIFICANTLY lower than what I'd usually consider for a game in this series. It was a broken, watered-down rehash of what was a fantastic game for the Nintendo GameBoy.
I'll use this section to clear up my comparisons I drew between this game and Megaman X6.
1. They're both developed by Capcom.
2. They both take a great game engine and shoot it in the knees.
3. They're both insanely difficult for no good reason at all.
4. They both rehash elements from previous games that should NOT have been rehashed (I'M LOOKING AT YOU, ZERO!)
5. I hate both of them equally, to be honest.
This concludes my review, or deconstruction if you'd prefer, of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons. Overall, I hate this game. It honestly gets extra points just for being a Zelda game at its core, which is a formula I'll love no matter what they manage to do to it. Also, one more thing, consider this a review for both Seasons and Ages, since they're basically the same game but with more emphasis on other broken aspects of the game. And with a different endboss.
Adieu!
Graphics 7 Sound 8 Addictive 6 Story 8 Depth 9 Difficulty 8
Review Rating: 5/5
Submitted: 07-27-14
Review Replies: 4
10
Link...The warrior who protects the land of Holodrum! sonicthehedgeho..
Summer......With it's heating rays from the sun it causes many sprouts to grow into vines as well as having water levels go down. Winter......With it's chilling frost many lakes freeze over and across the lands, much snow is to be found on the grounds.
Autumn-(Fall).......With it's gentle nature and it's welcoming temperature as leafs start to fall off their trees leaving the ground in a bouquet of leafs, and many mushrooms that are rock hard all year are ready to be picked at this time.
Spring........With it's freshening breeze many flowers and plants bloom very well including flower buds that are rock hard all year long. These are the essences that make up the land Holodrum, all is well it seems in the land until a certain day with a certain girl in a certain group. Who is this Girl? Who are the people in the group? Who is the one that might ruin the land? You'll find out in this review!
Graphics: 8 out of 10
The graphics on this game are not perfect but are very good for being on an old portable system the Game Boy Color alot of game on this portable have fairly the same level of descent graphics, not only does it do a good job of having great graphics on a Game Boy Color game but it also does a good job at supporting game boy game that have been made onto a Game Boy Color cartridge. Anyway that's getting off topic, The graphics in Zelda Oracle Of Seasons are really good like when you change from fall to winter you see the ground change from leafs to snow and the background changes from a Red-ish-Orange color to a blue and white colored background, not only do you have great background graphics but sometimes in certain spots in the game you get a up close shot of Link and the sage Din Dancing in still-frame. Great Graphics so a 8 out of 10 is what rating I'm giving this game in term of graphics.
Story: 10+ out of 10
My goodness the story in this game is just....breath-taking, how is it breathing you say, you shall see! The back-story to this game is that one day Link is drawn towards Hyrule Castle and when he enters inside the Triforce is glittering in front of him, a voice is then heard coming from the Triforce saying "Accept our quest hero". Then he is transported to the land of Holodrum where he is then found unconscious near some grass and a dancer shows up to take care and aid him, when Link finally awakens the dancer that had woke him up asks Link if he would like to dance with her and says not to be shy and that it's easy. All of the sudden lightning starts striking the area and then a whirlwind comes and blows all the others members of the group away the voice that comes from the whirlwind reveals that the female dancer is actually Din the oracle of seasons, Link tries to stop the whirlwind from taking Din away but he fails and gets flung to the side the whirlwind ends up taking Din away. You then get a look at the mastermind behind the crime a enemy that covered in armor everywhere and he is named Onox the general of darkness, immediately he encases Din in a block of ice, since Din has been taken away the lands on holodrum have had their seasons fall into chaos so it is your job as Link to go and rescue Din from the forces of Onox! Amazing story that really draws you into playing the game 10+ out of 10 is well deserved her in my opinion.
Difficulty: 7.5 out of 10
The difficulty in this game is a mix between the game and the player's faults, In which as some points you have to be really quick with your reflexes to get to a certain point in a dungeon or area and that falls more so under the games fault and not the players, however if you get stuck in a dungeon and don't know where you have to go next or are stuck on a boss that falls more under the players fault and not the games as the game does have a map and a compass inside the dungeons that you can get to help you and sometimes the game gives you a hint on how to beat the boss or enemy. The game itself isn't really that difficult as it is very forgiving at several points in the game but you wouldn't say it's exactly the angel of kindness either and since it is an adventure & puzzle game put together you do have to think about your moves before you make them. Not too hard and Not too easy either, 7.5 out of 10 is the difficulty I'm giving this game.
Sound: 10 out of 10
The games sound effects are great as most of the sound effects are the same as Link's Awakening for GB (Game boy) so it's good to know they stayed with what worked. Now the music in this game is where the sound rating really shines as the music from the intro to the end is just simply outstanding, as the music can make you feel like "ha I'm ready for anything that comes my way!" some of my most favorite songs from this game are "Snake's Remain (Temple 2), Dancing with Din, & Temple Of Seasons. They did a really good job using what they had available when they made the soundtrack and sound effects to this game, very well done 10 out of 10
Depth: 10 out of 10
This game has so much that you can or must do in the game including: going between the lands of Holodrum and Subrosia, trying to get all the rings in the game, doing all the side-missions, and just beating all the temples can take a really long time as such making the game longer. Not only that but even when you finish the game there is still more that you can do as if this is your first time beating the game or if you're playing a linked game then you either get a password to use on Oracle Of Ages, or once you defeat Onox you can enter a secret place called the Room of Rites in where you must choose the correct path to follow to make it to the end were you will fight Kotake & Koume together as Twinrova then if you defeat them you go and face Ganon the true final boss. Ahhhhh so much you can do and so many times you can do it, 10 out of 10 is deserved for the depth of this game.
Addictiveness: 10+ out of 10
You seriously wanna know how the addictive level is on this game well the best way for you to know is play this game, go through the entire game, defeat the last temple, and think over about the time you spent on the game I'm sure you'll probably think it was a great use of your time and that you'll most likely play it again sometime. Not to mention that this game has 2 different endings to it, you have the 1st one the normal ending in which you see Din and Link talking and then see a shadow of Twinrova appear then you are given a password to continue your adventure in Oracle Of Ages, the 2nd being the true ending where you see Zelda,Din,Nayru, & Impa all bonding together and happy. This is one game you can not turn down to play a second time so it has to be 10+ out of 10 to me.
So now you know the game Zelda Oracle Of Seasons a game that is very unique in many ways, with the power of all the seasons Spring/Summer/Autumn/ & Winter peace was able to be brought back to the land again naming you a hero and the wielder of the seasons. Now that you are finished in Holodrum I'd say it's time to travel to another town named Labrynna and meet up with another mysterious character named Nayru The Oracle Of Ages. Time to prepare for a whole new adventure!
Graphics 8 Sound 10 Addictive 10 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 7
Review Rating: 4/5
Submitted: 12-01-12
Review Replies: 0
9.4
From the Oracle series! LucasMull
Presentation:
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons is a must play for any Zelda fan out there, if you haven't played any Zelda's game so far I strongly recommended this game as your starting point to the franchise. This game was launched in the last GBC year, allowing the handheld to make a stylish leave and letting the GBA make its apparison. I could easily name this game as my favorite GBC game, even surpassing the over acclaimed game Pokemon. Graphics: 10
Beautiful graphics, the way this game manages to play with the GBC's colors is truly amazing, each season gives a new variety of colors to the scenario, you can really feel a change of mood when changing between winter, summer and so forth. There's also a great variety of different of animations, from the singing villager all the way to Zelda's end-game kiss. A great feat for a GBC game with limited capability.Sound: 10
8-bit masterpieces all over the place, as my personal favorite being the Tarm Ruins soundtrack. You will encounter a great variety of music as you adventure yourself into different areas, providing a hugely immersive experience and a sense that something great is to come. The animation sounds are well put and gives the player a sense of action.Addictiveness: 8
There is definitely a lot of content put together is this game, from side quests to challenging dungeons and boss fights. Tons of dungeons and charismatic characters. This is a game that I see myself playing some years from now.
Story: 8
By the time this game was launched, Zelda was still a game mainly focused on the player's individual experience, the story in it is just enough to provide you a main objective. That being said, this game still manages to make the player feel as if he is into something big, as you gain new tools and gets one step closer to the final challenge, it feels tremendously satisfactory.
Depth: 10
There is so much content into it, they had to separate the game in two. The map is huge for itself (especially for a GBC), but what really is going to take your time are the mind-challenging puzzles and dungeons. Currently being the Zelda game with most dungeons count (17 if linked to Oracle of Ages), you are bound get tired if you expect to clear one dungeon after another. There is one MiniBoss and Boss for each dungeon each have their own beating strategy some being ridiculously easy to beat, others requiring fast fingering action. Despite all that, when you finally think you beat the game you are surprised with additional linked game content, so if you aren't a very patience person (such as myself), I would recommend you to start right at the additional linked content, as you get the chance to fight Twinrova and Ganon resurrected in the end.
Difficulty: 9
I don't know if it's just me, but some puzzles were so painfully hard I need a walkthrough help. If you pay attention to every single detail, the particular use for each tool, you may clear the game without any help. Other than that, there are occasions when even if you know what you are supposed to do it's just easier said than done, especially when beating bosses or stepping into a dangerous room which requires a sequence to be beaten.
Overall: 9.4
With all this being said, this game has exceeded my expectations. From all the Zelda games I've played, this was the one I had least knowledge of and I'm glad I finally took some time to play it!
And with this I finish my first game review. Any criticism is welcome, as I hope to make more soon, thanks for taking your time!
10
My Review of The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons nintendomangaguy
Ah yes. The game known as Zelda-Oracle of Seasons. This game is amazing! Zelda-Oracle of Seasons has to be one of the best games in the Zelda Franchize! I am not even Joking. This is my favroite Zelda game of all time. I know There are better Zelda games than Zelda-Oracle of Seasons, like for example all three of the N64 Zelda games The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time, The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask, and The Legend of Zelda Orcarina of Time Master Quest. The main reason Zelda-Oracle of Seasons my favroite Zelda game of all time because Zelda-Oracle of Seasons was the first Zelda game I ever played so it is the game that got me into and made me love the Zelda franchise, because of that you can see why it is my favroite game in the entire Zelda franchise. The story is great it starts off with you finding the triforce and then it transports you to a strange land known as Holodrum. When you arive you are found by a mysterious girl watches over you until you are back on your feet. when you start the game you find the girl and her acting troop having a small party you find that this firey red head is Din the Oracle of Seasons. This firey red head is very beautiful and she has a burning pasion for dancing. This small party is stoped by Onox whom declers himself as Onox, the General of Darkness. He kidnappes Din, the Oracle of Season he imprisions her much like how Ganondorf dose with Princess Zelda when she revaels that Sheki was her in descise the whole time from the game The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time. The only real difrence is that it is blue not pink like in Ocarina of Time. Then Onox, the General of Darkness makes the Temple of Seasons disapear and making it sink it into another land that is foreign to the land of Holodrum because of this turn of events this causes the seasons to fall apart mixing up the seasons to create enough destruction to.. and I am to going to spoil it for you. Now this is where the game really starts. Impa tells you that she is really Zelda's nurse and not the cook for Din and her acting troop and she was sent by Prince Zelda herself to watch after Din the Oracle of Seasons, but due to Onox's strike and the kidnapping of Din the Oracle of Seasons she hurt her ankle and can not return to Hyrule. You are then instructed to meet with the Great Maku Tree the guardian of Holodrum. He tells you in order to save Din you must collect the eight essenses of nature. that is the basic story line. Now the Oracle game are very unique compared to the other games in the Zelda franchise. It has a unique password system that makes it more interesting and impressing in my opion and with its siter game The Legend of Zelda Oracle of Ages you can complete the full story line. So this game is very impressive and worth playing both!
Review Rating: 3.7/5
Submitted: 04-21-11
Updated: 04-30-11
Review Replies: 0
9.7
Zelda Oracle Of Seasons wicked-pyper-le..
Among The Legend of Zelda Series holds one of my favorite games Zelda Oracle Of Seasons. Now I didn't really play this game fully till I found this site but when I finally did play it I was amazed. I had only play Zelda Link To The Past at the time so I had no other thought of a Zelda story line or place setting in my head so to see this game an dhow it played was just astounding. Unlike in Oracle of Ages this game is featured on the Seasons and is to me some what more beautiful and dramatic to the storyline and characters. If you wish to play a Zelda game I would totally recommend this one for a first time player.Graphics: Now you can't compare this game to any game we have now because if you do then it just sucks but if you think of it when it came out for gameboy then it was epic! Watching as you walk into another area and seeing it snow and it actually be white instead of a dark gray made me more then just happy I wish I could play and build a snow man. I love the summer season the most and how it was bright and sunny, compare to other old school Zelda games this by far to me has one of the best graphics.Sound: As like most video games I have to say that for the most part the music can get some what repetitive and annoying but other then that I loved the music for each season and area. They each had an unique tune that I fell in love with the moment I started playing. I also enjoyed the boss battle sound effects and music, some sounded horrid and insidious while others were just scary!! Addictiveness: I could not stop playing this game, every time I would have to stop my mind would not stop racing waiting to get to the next place and explore the unknown. I literally could play this game for days and not even realize it I wish I owned it in real life but now and days you can't find a game this old. You could have a file half way done and restart it and feel no remorse because its just that fun.Story: To me the storyline was good I found it could have been some what more filling I would say. I wanted to do more and talk to a lot more people. I can understand why, this is an old game I would however never want them to remake this game because it is original and awesome. But to use the seasons in a Zelda game is pretty incredible and to have it play tightly into the storyline just makes this game even more astonishing.Depth: Now as for how long this game took me to beat not that long but only because it was so addicting. If it wasn't for that then it would have taken me weeks to beat this game. It offers more then one would think a video game could you just can't think of it as just an old game but as a legendary Zelda game.Difficulty: For me this game was hard I am not that good at Zelda games they are some what difficult for me, but I would think for an average player this game wouldn't be so hard maybe a 6-10 or so. The bosses can be a bit tricky and the random enemies are a pain specially if you are low on hearts. If you stay alert and focused then this game isn't as hard as most Zelda games are.
Graphics 7 Sound 8 Addictive 10 Story 9 Depth 7 Difficulty 9
Review Rating: 3.5/5
Submitted: 11-27-13
Review Replies: 5
10
Master the Seasons with Link goofyn1nja
Have you wondered where darkness lures. Have you been waiting to have a chance to save the world from darkness and become a hero. Than your in for a treat become are character link and watch as you return the world back into a safe place. You have the power to change your area to make it easier to get around, but be warned you can't make it every where without requiring the right skills and items to guide you. There will be many foes and you have to take the strongest of them down to get to onox to save the oracle of seasons (din).
You will enjoy every turn as you listen to the great music of the classic Zelda series. Watch as you make the items you have made better than you ever thought they would be. There all types of regular beasts the real challenge is the bosses at the dungeons and your enemy onox. Don't worry though unlike other games you don't have to reach save points you will keep what you attained as long as you save, after you die! When you are finally finished with the game prepare for the code to where you can play the 2nd part of the story on legend of Zelda oracle of seasons.
Do you think you can handle the monsters? Are you willing to step out of your way to save the world? Can you defeat the evil and clean the world from darkness? Who knows until you enter the battlefield? If you believe you can and will welcome to the legend of Zelda: oracle of seasons.
Graphics 7 Sound 10 Addictive 5 Story 10 Depth 10 Difficulty 10
Review Rating: 2.4/5
Submitted: 04-07-12
Review Replies: 2
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